Don't be too flattered by the office flirt - he's probably just a bit bored

When he smiles at you across the office and stops for a chat at the water cooler, it is easy to take it as a compliment.

But it seems men who flirt at work are not necessarily doing so because they find you attractive – many are in fact just bored.

University of Surrey researchers asked more than two hundred men and women between the ages of 21 and 68 about whether they flirt at work – or engage in ‘ambiguous goal-motivated behaviours that can be, but are not restricted to being, interpreted as sexually motivated’.

Problematic: A study has found females who are the subject of a man's amorous glances are less likely to do well at work because they get distracted

The lawyers, stockbrokers, charity workers and civil servants were also asked questions about their personalities, how satisfied they were in their jobs and how hard they worked.

The results revealed a clear difference between the sexes.

Women who flirted were just as happy in their jobs as those who kept relationships on a strictly business basis.

However, male flirts tended to be less satisfied with their lot.

Chadi Moussa, a business psychologist said: ‘Previous research has shown
that people flirt for various reasons, which include increasing their
self-esteem, fun and romance.

‘If men are feeling unsatisfied in their roles, then they may resort to
flirting to keep them entertained and this would partially explain the
negative relationship.

‘While flirting can have benefits, excessive flirting at work may be a
sign that you’re unsatisfied with your job or simply bored.’

But Mr Moussa, who presented results at a British Psychological Society conference on the psychology of women, said his findings didn’t suggest flirting made employees more satisfied or helped them to perform better.

A 2007 study found that most working women would rather have a male boss – and they are quite prepared to flirt their way to the top.

The survey, commissioned by Harper’s Bazaar, found that women see other females as the main competition in the workplace.

As a result three out of five would rather work directly for a man than a woman while a further 86 per cent would happily flirt with a male colleague if it meant they got their own way.

But Mr Moussa said: ‘Our findings contradict popular notions that flirting at work can make employees mores satisfied or perform better.’